can be a justification for felling rainforest trees.

The economical and material profits of no other usage of tropical wood are in relation to the damages done to our ecosystem and the global climate changes by clearing areas of primeval forest. For example wide areas in South-East Asia are currently being deforested only to make throw-away sticks for Japanese junk-food.

So what can YOU do?

• Instead of buying furniture manufactured of tropical woods opt for furniture made of domestic woods. In the United States and Europe beautiful domestic woods are walnut, maple, beech, spruce and others. Try to avoid mahogany, meranti, wengé, and ebony, as most of these are yielded by cutting already endangered species of trees (the term mahogany sums up a lot of actually different species of trees originating in Africa and the rain forests of Southern America).